by CY Jones
“Servant? You two look the same age,” I say lamely.
“‘Servant’' is the right term since I was born to serve him. We are only a couple of months apart, and we did grow up together. When he’s here, I see to his needs, but he likes to skip all formalities and treat me like a friend.”
“Sounds like him,” I smile. “So who sent you to seek me out? Him or his mother?”
He chuckles, not at all surprised by my forwardness. “He did, on his way to speak with his mother. He said you’d probably be restless and to keep you company. I skipped school today to greet you two, so I have the whole day free. Would you like for me to give you a tour of the estate?”
“Sure, I’m game. This is Archer,” I say not to be rude. He may be a spiritual being, but he’s still a person to me. “You don’t mind if he stays corporal, do you? I’d feel safer,” I add.
“Of course. I was warned beforehand that you have a Champion beside you. I can say I do not know much about the Mage Wars. It all sounds like a fairytale to me. Mage history and magic isn’t part of a servant's training. We just pick up on bits and pieces of things we see.”
“I can see why nothing is explained since you’re supposed to be in the dark in the first place. I’m sorry,” I add when I hear the way I said it. “I’m not used to outsiders knowing about us. Don’t take it personally.”
“I won’t.” He smiles a charming smile before leading the way and starting the tour.
Chapter 22
Angelica
Yuki makes an efficient bodyguard and is very knowledgeable about the estate. Magic may not be part of his education, but the history of who he serves is. There wasn’t anything about any building or important piece of furniture he couldn’t tell me about. He even knew the history of some of the trees that were planted like the old cherry blossom tree outside my room with a swing attached, which was a gift to some long dead princess from the Emperor's son who thought her carefree nature was enduring.
By the time my feet started to finally show tiredness, the sun was starting to set and we turned back so I could get ready for dinner. Not once while we were out did I see Kirito. That talk with his mother must be running pretty long, or she’s taking a play straight out of Leslie’s playbook and is keeping him away from me on purpose.
“You can refresh yourself and change. I have some things to see to first, and I’ll come back to walk you to dinner. A special dinner is being made tonight since this is the first time in a long while since the whole head of the household has been home together at the same time.”
“His parents must have missed Kirito when he went away to school, huh?”
“They did. I always thought he’d start high school with me and our friends since they were reluctant to send him off, but going away to academy has been the best thing for him. Plus, he met you,” he beams.
“How do you know that’s a good thing? You know nothing about me,” I state the obvious.
“I know Kirito-kun and that’s good enough for me. He’d never go through this much trouble for a girl if she wasn’t worth it.”
I nod, taking his answer, before sliding the door back and entering my room. There’s a bathroom off to the right, so I decide to shower since I’ve been walking around most of the afternoon, but once done, I’m at a loss of what to wear. Traditional Japanese dresses made to intimidate are not part of my wardrobe, so I settle on a dark pressed skirt, tights, and sweater combo. Leaving my hair down, I pull most of it to the side and crisscrossed with two of my nicer hair clips to hold the bundle in place. Both are completely encrusted in crushed diamonds and tiny ruby hearts. I leave my makeup light. It’s enough to tell I have some on, but shows restraint. I’m not a heel person, but for the occasion, I made sure to pack a couple of my nicer, more expensive pair, knowing I’ll have to dress to impress. Hopefully, this outfit reads ‘future daughter-in-law’ or at least ‘see, I can look good and won’t embarrass your family line’.
Sitting on the bed flicking his tail, Mr. Meow watches me like a feline would regard a mouse. I haven’t seen him in his panther form much lately, but maybe it’s for my sake he has been staying in his cat form. Or maybe my flow of magic isn’t circling through him right either and he too is relying on Zion’s mana. If that’s the case then Zion is something else altogether to be supplying all of us so effortlessly. I wonder how mad he is at me right now? Probably furious. By now, everyone has to know I’m gone. Milo, the twins, they can’t be too pleased with me either. It seems like I’m always leaving them behind. At least I left knowing my grandfather wouldn’t be worried. He did tell me to go after all. I just hope the others realize why I had to leave. Without magic, Crescent Moon Academy is not the place for me. Not if I want to live. My list of enemies is long and the ones that hold grudges even longer.
Twenty minutes later, there’s a knock at the door and I open it to a smiling Yuki. As soon as the door slides open, Mr. Meow jumps off the bed and darts out the door, too fast for anyone to stop him.
“I didn’t know you had a pet with you. I hope he’ll be okay. There’s a lot of free roaming snakes on the property. Some of them are quite poisonous.”
“He’s my familiar. He should be fine,” I say, waving my hand nonchalantly, but still wondering why they have poisonous snakes freely roaming the property. If I had to guess, I’d say they’re familiars too or added security.
“Oh, like Madame and Kirito-kun’s snakes?” he hums.
“Yes. Exactly. Mr. Meow is like a guard made from my magic. We’re in a new place, so he’s probably antsy from curiosity. I’m surprised he lasted this long.”
“That’s pretty cool. Madame’s snake isn’t that bad, but I’ve seen Kirito-kun’s eat someone whole. I still get nightmares,” he shivers.
“I have too. If it helps, think of it as he ate the bad guys.”
“That does help,” he chuckles. “Are you ready? Everyone is waiting on you.”
“Great,” I mutter. The last to arrive. “Well, let’s get this over with.” Following him out, I wish Mr. Meow stayed behind for me to take with. Maybe taking a pet to dinner would be considered rude, but I’m sure he’d do wonders to calm my nerves if I were to sit there and pet him. That’s probably why he ran off. The little traitor knew exactly what I was thinking. You could have taken one for the team, I berate him in my head.
It’s a walk to the dining hall. Not wanting to let my plan go, every time I hear a rustle in the bushes, I’d check to see if it’s Mr. Meow, but for the exception of one red, green, and yellow dotted snake, a bird’s nest, and a wicked looking spider I wish I did not see, there was no cat in sight.
As soon as Kirito sees me walk in, he plasters the biggest smile on his face and immediately stands, pulling me to him. Like a perfect gentleman, he holds my chair out for me and I take a seat right next to him. Once we’re both seated, he squeezes my hand, but as happy as he is to see me, I can still see the exhaustion in his eyes. While I’ve been sightseeing around the property, he’s had a long day. I wonder was it just his mother who put him through the ringer or did both his parents contribute?
Sitting at the head of the table is an older version of Kirito. The slanted eyes are the same and his nose and jaw are all Kirito. His dark hair has a sprinkle of grey, but it makes him look more distinguished and not old at all. I can see the mage sitting at the table like a general, but also the cunning and intimidating CEO in the boardroom. When he smiles, happy lines grace his face, making him more approachable and I relax a little.
“Son, you told me your guest was beautiful, but I did not expect to see such a rare beauty. I can see why you’re so enthralled.”
Clearing my throat, I reply, “Thank you,” and then freak out again. Should I have greeted him? Bowed? All the etiquette I learned on the jet has been swallowed by a huge black hole.
“Father, this is my Angelica. Angelica, this is my father, Kaname Choi, but you can call him Kaname-san.”
“Let’s skip all the formalities.
My son is in love with you, which already makes you family. You can call me Kaname, if you wish.” Beside him, his wife makes a not so subtle humph, doing nothing to hide her displeasure. So I guess it was his mother who was giving Kirito a hard time all day.
“Thank you, ah, sir,” I say, shifting my eyes at his wife and back. “You have a very lovely home. I believe I spent most of the afternoon in all the different gardens.”
Not in the bit offended that I didn’t take him up on his suggestion, he says, “It is quite something. Sometimes, I wish I could play hooky at work and hang out at home and enjoy the day.”
“You should. It’s never good to work yourself to death,” I tell him.
“Is that what you were taught in the harlequin commune you grew up in?” Kirito’s mother sneers.
“Mother,” Kirito growls in warning.
Patting him on his shoulder, I let him know it’s alright. “My father taught me the value of working and training hard, but he also said to stop and enjoy life because you never know how fleeting it is. Ever since I attended the academy, I saw firsthand how true his words are.”
“And your real father, Lord Morganstein, what does he have to say on the subject?” she continues, making Kirito hiss out a warning like a snake beside me.
Refraining from calling him my favorite nickname for him, I reply, “Morganstein and I barely speak. We don’t know each other, and we don’t exactly see eye to eye. He may be my father by blood, but that is all he’ll ever be to me.”
“You say that now, but as your parent, he has a lot of say over your life. Like your mating for instance. I hear he has you matched with the Hawththrone heir. As a mage from an impeccable family with a long and impressive lineage, I see nothing wrong with that match.”
“There isn’t anything wrong with it,” I reply.
“Yet you want to break that arrangement in favor of my son? Our family are also founders and have our own impressive lineage, but nothing like the Hawthorne’s.”
“I’m not breaking our agreement. I can’t even if I wanted to, and I don’t want to. I care for your son. Love him even. At school, getting along with him was easy. He is one of the few people who understand me and would never judge me. He doesn’t care what my last name is, and he’d never use me. I wish I could assure you and say when I open my eyes, I only see him. That I only have love for him, but that’s not the case. My heart is big, big enough to love both Kirito and Zion and I want them both by my side. I’m not using your son or trying to purposely make things difficult. I don’t want anything from him but his love.”
“That’s quite the speech,” Kirito’s father says.
“It’s the truth.”
“And your father?? Does he know how you feel?” he asks.
“No, but it’s not like he tried to get to know me or has spoken to me without ordering me around. Boudreaux may not have been my real father, but he’s the only one who has been a real father to me. He taught me to fight. That not all freedoms come easy. He would not want me to settle just because Morganstein told me so. I’m his daughter, no matter who gave me life, and I’ll fight for what I want. Kirito Choi is who I want. Please, don’t make this hard on us,” I plead.
“This isn’t an easy decision. All we ever wanted was for Kirito to settle down and produce an heir, continuing our family line. Making an enemy out of someone as powerful as your father is not something we want to do. Boudreaux may have raised you, but Lord Morganstein is your father. Who he wants for your mate is all our world understands. If we can’t convince him, then I’m afraid it doesn’t matter if we approve or not.”
I can tell his father isn’t being mean, just rational.
“Then we’ll elope,” Kirito blurts out, making his mother nearly pass out from shock.
“Are you crazy? If you elope with this girl, you’re as good as dead,” she chastises him.
“That’s enough, Kirito. I’m not telling you no, just stating the facts. It’s better to have everything laid out on the table before making heavy decisions that have lasting consequences. I thought I taught you better than that. Now, let's table this subject for now and enjoy dinner. It’s been a long time since the last time you were home.”
Grumbling beside me, Kirito complies. He’s not happy I can tell, but at least we didn’t get a flat out rejection. If matters were left up to his mother, we would have had our answer when we first arrived. I know he said what he did for shock value, but does he really think we can elope like a couple of humans? His mother is right. We’d be as good as dead. I’m certain once I get back and Morganstein finds out for certain I ran off with Kirito, he will check to make sure I didn’t do just that.
With business talk out of the way, the rest of dinner goes by nicely. Even half-way through dinner Kirito’s mother stopped giving me drop dead stares. Munching on my third shrimp tempura, I comment on how good they are.
“That’s because my mom made them with the family secret,” Kirito says offhandedly.
“You can cook?” I blurt out, staring in shock at his mother. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine this elegant woman slaving behind a stove. I mean, doesn’t she have servants to take care of that for her?
Reading my mind or the look on my face. She answers, “Of course I can cook. I may have staff that takes care of cooking, which they do effortlessly on a daily basis, but for special meals like these, I like to feed my boys myself.”
“Oh.” I’m speechless. Besides boiling water for the kettle and making toastees, I’m useless in the kitchen.
“I take it you can’t cook?” she questions.
“No, I’m more of a new era chick,” I joke.
“Don’t you think you should learn if you’re going to be someone’s mate? Just because we have household servants doesn’t mean we have to rely on them. There might be circumstances where you’ll have to fend for yourself,” she presses.
“The thought crossed my mind, but I’m really a jinx when it comes to cooking. It’s best for everyone if I stick to calling out or making reservations.”
“Shrimp tempura is really easy to make. Why don’t you teach her how tomorrow for lunch?” Kirito’s dad suggests. The look on Kirito’s mom’s face is priceless and says exactly what she thinks of that suggestion, but since she was just spouting off about how important it is to cook for her mate, she didn’t exactly have the face to turn his suggestion down.
“Alright,” she reluctantly agrees, which makes her husband smile.
“Yay,” I offer, even less enthused. After that, I finish eating as quickly as possible before I’m volunteered for something else.
By the time I finish up my cup of freshly steeped jasmine tea, I am ready for bed. The time difference is starting to get to me, making me feel the jet lag more prominent now. I thought after dinner I could finally spend some well earned alone time with Kirito, but my body is completely drained with no extra energy.
Walking me back to my room, Kirito kisses me from my door to the bed. Once he comes up for air with red swollen lips, he lifts me with an exaggerated groan of sorrow. “What’s wrong with you?” I ask, even though I already know.
“Mom already warned me how improper it is for two unmated couples to sleep in the same room and not to think about it because it isn’t happening under her roof. I’m sure she’ll have her people check to make sure I don’t sleep in here and report back to her in the morning. Just like I thought, I won’t be able to touch you while we’re here.”
“Well, it’s a good thing you got your fill on the plane, now isn’t it?” I point out. He’s acting like the world is about to end if he doesn’t get some everyday.
“It wasn’t enough. I’m already going through withdrawals,” he whines.
“Poor baby,” I tease, making a pouty face.
Grabbing for me tighter, he replies, “Don’t tempt a desperate man, kitten. Technically, fucking outside isn’t under her roof.”
“What am I going to do with you?” I say, pushing him
away. “You’re too sex crazed. I think this is a good thing. My honey pot needs a break. Why don’t you find something else to do to take the edge off?”
“Like what?” he asks.
“I don’t know. Something.” I laugh at his crestfallen face. Apparently, he came here looking for an accomplice. Too bad for him I agree with his mother, at least in this matter. “Sorry, babe. I don’t want to make your mother hate me anymore than she already does, and I’m jet lagged. I need my sleep if I’m going to be stuck in the kitchen with her tomorrow. Don’t you feel sorry for me?” I pout.
“Fine, I’ll let you sleep. The old man is taking you up on your suggestion and is taking time off from the office tomorrow to spend some time together with me, so who knows what he’ll have me doing. I could use some sleep too.”
“See, problem solved. Good night. Sleep tight. Don’t let the poisonous snakes bite,” I rhyme, pushing him along his way. But, of course, he doesn’t make his departure easy and kisses me like mad until he’s finally satisfied and leaves me breathless.
Alone, I change into a sleep shirt that belongs to my brother and am fast asleep before my second reclaimed breath. With Archer guarding over me, I don’t worry about anything. I must say it’s nice, and I’ll miss him when I have to return him. Too bad the Mage War can’t last forever.
Ruelle
“Have you found the girl yet?” Morganstein questions even though he already knows the answer.
“No, my lord. I suspect she left with the Choi heir,” I answer carefully. He’s already in a mood, and I’d rather not have every bone broken in my body and have to pick myself off the ground.